Related Articles:

There’s an old saying that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” It has been my experience that “value” is likewise define by personal perception.

Value is often brought up by prospective franchisees, who commonly ask, “Is the price right?” or “Is the franchise too expensive?” or “How do I know what the true costs are in a franchise?” These Questions cut to the heart of one of the key factors in making a decision about a franchise business: whether or not the fees and costs that must be paid to a franchise are fair, reasonable and appropriate.

Let’s start with the last question first.You should have a big advantage with a franchise, because the norm is for franchisors to disclose all fees and costs in their disclosure document, which they must demand prior to any purchase. This document breaks down the information you need.

Because the franchising sector is not yet regulated by specific state imposed legislation you will be best advised to follow up on the accuracy of details in the disclosure document by way of your own in-depth research.

Some of the most typical costs and feespaid to the franchisor (or to direct affiliates of the franchisor) include:

Initial Franchise Fees

Most franchise companies require a new franchisee to pay a one time initial fee to become a franchisee. This fee canbe as low as R100 000 to R150 000 or as high as the sky – in some cases well over R1 million. The average or typical initial franchise fee for a single unit is about R200 000 or R350 000.

Royaltiesor Ongoing Franchise Fees

Franchisees usually pay an ongoing franchise fee or royalty. This fee is normally expressed as a percentage of the gross revenue of the franchised business but can also be a fixed periodic amount such as R5 000 per month, regardless of revenue. The average or typical royalty percentage in a franchise is 5% to 6% of volume, but these fees can range from a small fraction of 1% to 50% or more of revenue, depending on the franchise.

Marketing Fees

Franchises often require participation in a common advertising or marketing fund. This fund is frequently a national program, but it can also have a regional or local market focus. As with royalty fees, this can be a fixed contribution, but is more often a percentage of revenue in the 1% to 4% range.

Required Purchases of Products or Services

Some franchisors also require that a franchisee purchase certain required products or services either from the franchisor or from affiliated entities of the franchise company. The thing to watch for in this situation is whether the pricing is competitive or not.

Other

There are no other typical or common fees or costs, so if you see anything else in a franchise disclosure, check it very carefully to make sure it’s appropriate.

The franchisors’ disclosure document will let you know what these costs and fees are. The other question about whether these costs are reasonable is more difficult to answer, because it involves a perception of value. The secret to answering this question is to focus on the global picture of the opportunity from your perspective rather than the details of any specific fee or cost.

As an example, let’s suppose we’re comparing two franchise opportunities, A and B. The total investment required for each is an identical R1,5 million, including initial franchise fee and all other costs.We determine from our investigation that the typical franchisee in A is making an average profit, after all expenses, of R200 000 per year in their business, whereas the typical franchisee in B is making an average profit after all expenses of R5 million per year.

In examining the disclosure documents for the two opportunities, we further learn A has an initial franchise fee of R10000, a royalty fee of 1% and no other costs. Franchise B has an initial franchise fee of R1 million, a royalty fee of 25%, a marketing fee of 10% and further requires the franchisee to purchase required supplies for their business at what we’ve determined is a 1 000% mark-up – well above competitive rates for comparable supplies.

Which is the better opportunity? Which delivers better value to the franchisee? Which is more fair and reasonable in relation to the fees and costs that they charge? In this example, most people would identify B as a far better opportunity, in spite of the fact that its fees and costs are dramatically higher than A. This is because, from the franchisee’s perspective, it offers a much greater return.

The fees and costs that go to the franchise company are what they are. The true test of value is what goes to the franchisee.

That said, there’s one caveat that every prospective franchisee must be aware of. Occasionally, franchises have average returns far outside the range that would be considered normal for a business to produce. These situations are rare, and they typically don’t last for long,because extraordinary returns tend to attract a huge number of competitors very rapidly.

If you see an opportunity that looks like B in the example above, you should be wary about how long these types of returns might last. If the business follows form, it will soon attract competitors and experience pricing pressures that will bring the margins way down.

B is not going to look very good, with these extraordinary costs and fees, if the revenue starts a rapid downturn. This very dynamic has happened in the past 25 years of franchising in the USA in what were booming sectors such as video rental, diet and fitness centres and speciality foods to name a few.

A standard formula for calculating a reasonable distribution of business proceeds is one-third of the average pre-tax profit margin (before any franchisor fees or costs or any franchisee compensation) goes to the company and two-thirds to the franchisee.

If, for example, the net margin is 21%, then the total of all royalty and other fees should be no more than about 7%. This formula may or may not seem fair to you, but you will find that many of the most successful franchise opportunities seem to stay very close to this formula.

You should never enter into a franchise agreement if you don’t feel the fees and costs you’re required to pay the franchise company are fair and reasonable. Rather than focusing specifically on what is going to the franchise company, though, make sure your focus is on what is coming to you, and then you’ll know if you’re paying the “right price.”

About the Author

Jeff Elgin has developed a consulting system that matches pre-screened, high-quality prospective franchisees with the franchise opportunities that best fit their personal profile.

Disclaimer: Reliance on the information this site contains is at your own risk. Readers are advised to consult their attorney and/or financial advisor prior to pursuing any investment. Please read our Editorial Disclaimer and Terms & Conditions of Use.

Is this information out of date or incorrect? Report it to our webmaster.